Latgalistikys kongresu materiali, III. 2011. - Latvijas Universitāte

financial support, the problem of definition seems to be of minor importance.
As Östen Dahl (2007: 80) has said — the question about what a language
and what a dialect is might be impossible to answer, like The Gordian
Knot. As we travel more often and contact people who speak other
language varieties than ours the borders between languages have in many
cases been erased. That is why it soon can be impractical to persist on the
rigid definition of a minority language. Instead of the criterion of ethnicity
we could take into consideration the criteria of cultural values connected
with the language variety and the group in question. If the unique dialects/languages
are to be preserved they should be treated individually with
the focus on what kind of help each of them needs.
Conclusions
Summing up all the questions concerned Övdalian’s future and its
recognition as a regional language it should be first of all stated that the
decision is based primarily on whether Övdalian should be treated as a
language or as a dialect. The dilemma has nevertheless always been more
of a political than a linguistic character. The most important factor for not
being recognized as a regional language seems to be the problem of ethnicity.
The only indication that people in Älvdalen may perceive themselves
as a separate group with their own ethnicity is the idea of forming a
republic out of one of the villages Åsen — Republiken Elfdals-Åsen. It is
yet more a sign of local patriotism and has a symbolic rather than political
meaning. The fact that originators of the idea have come with their own
anthem and currency (1 Elf-Daler = 100 Bekker = 1,20 SEK) is today
more of a tourist attraction.
While choosing between a dialect and a language one should nevertheless
take into consideration the opinion of language users as everyone
has the right to self-identification. The majority of Övdalians define their
variety as a language — 59% of students, 50% of parents and 88% of the
Municipal Council workers. Only 9% of students, 6% of Municipal Council
workers and 22% of parents have problems with deciding whether
Övdalian is a language or a dialect, which confirms that people in Älvdalen
have a very strong opinion in this question (Diagram 2).
Finally, the recognition of Övdalian as an effective way of preserving
this threatened vernacular is justified as there is no other dialect policy in
Sweden that would protect such small endangered dialects. When dialectspeaking
people ask the Swedish government for help they usually get the
161